IF there was one person that the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors found hard to tame, it was the towering Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Raymar Jose.
The bunch of people who wore green praised his name, while the reds cursed it. He was unstoppable, even shooting the last point that ended the match to victory, 67-59 on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Masaya ako kasi syempre galing kami sa talo. Ngayon, naka-bounce back kami. I just did my best to score as much points and para tulungan din yung teammates ko,” said Jose.
From the first quarter until the third, it was a flourished game for the Tamaraws leading as much as 10-points over the Warriors. It seemed easy for FEU, looking quite relaxed but still determined inside the court.
However, UE was not restless. With two minutes remaining in the fourth, Clark Derige shot three and closed the score to 62-59.
But the Warriors did not expect that Derige’s last three-point shot would also be their last. Tamaraws Monbert Arong, Allen Trinidad and Jose shot inside points to cap-off the game.
“We’re happy, because other guys stepped up. They were able to execute the game plan,” said FEU Coach Nash Racela.
The Tamaraws brought out the best of each, as all scored a point for the team, except for Brandrey Bienes.
Jose had 11 points, 22 rebounds and 2 assists. Arong provided 16 points and Axel Inigo gave out 12 points and 5 rebounds.
“We’re not like last year na meron kaming switch on, switch off. This year, it is totally different,” assured Racela.
The crowd would definitely look out for FEU, as the defending champions claimed their second win in the season. FEU now tied up with Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas (UST), 2-2 win-loss record in the UAAP standing.
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